Hunting The Great Game: King's General
by Higuchimon
Summary: Nothing goes anywhere without an exchange of some kind. Sometimes those exchanged might not notice it. But in this case, Taiki can't help but realize he's not at home anymore. [complete]
1. Chapter 1

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** One|| **Words:** 1,216  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** This is a Digimon Hunters rewrite/AU. Instead of beginning a year after Xros Wars, this begins three years later. Taiki is sixteen. Answers will come eventually. This is written for Aiko Isari.  
 **Summary:** Nothing goes anywhere without an exchange of some kind. Sometimes those exchanged might not notice it. But in this case, Taiki can't help but realize he's not at home anymore.

* * *

Clouds of a thousand colors spun all around Taiki, but he couldn't see a single speck of blue sky. Or any other color of sky for that matter. Just clouds as far up and as far down as he could see. He thought he was falling, but he couldn't really tell.

All of that passed through his mind in a matter of moments. Something more important lodged in the center of his thoughts, cold and unyielding and terrifying.

He wasn't where he was supposed to be. He was _supposed_ to be going to do a little sparring with Zenjirou. His friend had a match - he refused to let a little thing like high school get in the way of being a swordmaster - and he wanted to train against Taiki, still insisting Taiki was better than he was.

Taiki was - had been - on the way to their meeting, but he didn't recall any colored clouds on the way there. Just the usual buildings and people and cars, none of which he could see now.

He couldn't remember if he'd passed through anything like this before. The strange gateways in the Digital World were the only thing he could imagine that came close and those still didn't look like this.

But the closer the clouds pressed against him, the more he thought of those tunnels and the more he thought the air being sucked into his lungs by every gasping breath tasted and smelled like the Digital World itself.

As if thinking made it so, which wasn't all that far-fetched if this really was somewhere in the Digital World, the clouds parted and Taiki saw the most incredible panoramic view spread out beneath him.

The Digital World that he'd known had been divided into multiple tiny zones or a handful of countries. This was one world, and he moved far too fast to be able to see more than glittering golden sunlight, spreading emerald fields and forests, and a few stray places that were probably villages or towns.

Somewhere it dawned on him that he was falling and flailing, his hands grasping at the remaining clouds but to no avail.

 _Xros Loader!_ He had to find out if this really was the Digital World and if so where his friends were, because he could really use some help right now.

Especially of the tall dark _flying_ variety.

Every day for the last three years, he'd faithfully put his Xros Loader into his pants pocket or his bookbag, wherever he had that would keep it safe. Now he scrambled for it again, as he had many times before when more lives than his depended on him getting to it.

There it was! He took one terrifyingly quick look down; did he even have time before he splatted all over the ground? He hoped he did. He didn't take the time to fear not to.

Pulling his Xros Loader up to his mouth, he shouted as loud as he could make his lungs work.

"Shoutmon! Wisemon! Beelzebumon! Anyone! Can you hear me?"

He wished he knew where they were. Where he was. They might not even be in the Xros Loader. Shoutmon was king now, wasn't he? Didn't he, wouldn't he have something more important to do? How would they hear him even if they weren't busy?

"Taiki!" Shoutmon's familiar cry filled Taiki with more warmth than he'd experienced in far too long. "Taiki, where are you? Your world?"

Taiki looked around one more time. The ground remained a lot closer than he wanted it to be and getting closer all the time. He thought maybe he should have hit it already but he didn't want to complain. Wrong time for that.

"I think yours. And I could crash any second now!"

He heard a mutter of voices from the Xros Loader, most of which he thought he recognized, though separating them wasn't the easiest of tasks right now. Then one clear voice separated itself.

"I see him!"

Taiki wanted to ask where _they_ were, but with the way he passed over places, he had no idea on if it would mean anything to him.

Then a black feather appeared before him, gently drifting down, and before his mind fully processed what was going on, a black leather clad figure hovered beside him, one muscular arm circling around his waist, slowing his fall.

He looked up into Beelzebumon's face, heart beating a little faster as he began to process that he'd been falling more or less to his doom and now he wasn't. It wasn't the first time in his life he'd been close to death but certainly the most recent.

"Beelzebumon," he murmured, tension he hadn't even been aware of easing its way out of him. "Good to see you again."

The black feathered angel smiled back at him. "Good to see you again. You've gotten bigger."

"I didn't think it would be a good idea to get smaller," Taiki joked weakly. The side of Beelzebumon's mouth quirked, then he gathered Taiki closer and began to spiral down toward a collection of brightly colored buildings. Taiki stared at it as they got closer. Crashing into it would have been a nightmare but being able to stare at it meant he could enjoy the view. "What is that?"

"The new capital of the Digital World," Beelzebumon said. The closer they got, the more Taiki could see Digimon gathering all over, pouring out of homes and businesses and other buildings. No one building seemed bigger than the rest, not like a castle or palace, and the whole place, he saw now, was surrounded by a low wall more decorative than defensive.

Guarding that wall, however, was a familiar face. Or in fairness, group of faces: Knightmon and his PawnChessmon. Taiki waved at them, grinning when they waved back. He could see a few more he recognized, old friends he'd fought beside, even the occasional former enemy, just as he'd hoped, all of them revived and healed and working together.

Then he caught sight of something else that made his heart jump: or someone else. A little taller than he remembered, and with a few new accessories that Taiki knew he didn't remember, but he knew his partner when he saw him.

"Shoutmon!" He waved even more energetically as they dropped closer and the ground was solid and safe under his feet and Beelzebumon released him and Taiki started running almost before that, his heart pounding and his breath caught in his throat and he ran forward and Shoutmon met him somewhere in the middle and he wasn't crying, he really wasn't, and he didn't know when he had been this happy in his entire life.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** This is truly just the beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Two|| **Words:** 2,426  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** And the tale goes onward from here!

* * *

"Are you all right?" Shoutmon asked, staring at Taiki with more intensity than Taiki remembered him ever showing before. That wasn't the only change, scars and scarfs and a hard-won wisdom in his eyes, but Taiki would deal with all of that later.

"I guess I am. I don't know how I got here, though." First things first: figure out the details and then decide what to do about them. He didn't think Omegamon had called him here this time, but he wouldn't be here without some kind of reason, would he?

A voice almost as familiar as Shoutmon spoke. "I'm terribly afraid that's my fault. To some degree, at least."

Taiki stared over at the new arrival. "Wisemon? What do you mean?"

Wisemon coughed, as if a trifle ashamed of himself. Taiki didn't think he'd ever seen that before. "My assistant and I were working on our bothersome problem and there was an error in the calculations."

"Assistant?" Even after three years, Taiki thought he remembered well enough to be sure that sort of thing was rare. But it couldn't be impossible. There wasn't much that _was_ impossible.

Shoutmon sighed, shaking his head. "It's partially my fault too. I assigned Gumdramon to Wisemon."

Taiki shook his own head, but more in confusion than anything else. "What's going on? Who's Gumdramon?"

"Gumdramon is our biggest problem child around here. He gets into messes he shouldn't because he doesn't think about what he's doing."

Taiki couldn't help but grin at Shoutmon at that. "I've never met him but he reminds me of someone I know."

With Shoutmon's scarlet coloring, it was kind of hard to tell when he was blushing. But Taiki knew him very well and he could see it clearly.

Wisemon picked up the story, such as it was. "Shoutmon wanted him to work with me in the hopes he would develop experience and wisdom. Unfortunately, I can't claim that it worked to any reasonable degree."

"I asked them to look into why Digimon have been disappearing," Shoutmon said.

"Digimon have been disappearing?" Taiki repeated it, not certain if he'd heard correctly the first time. "You mean like…being killed disappearing?"

Shoutmon shrugged, his grip on his microphone tightening for a few seconds. "We're not sure. But some Digimon vanish and no one can find a trace of them. One second they're here and the next they're not."

Wisemon cleared his throat politely. "That's what I was researching: any previous such incidents and how they might have been dealt with. Or I should say what Gumdramon and I were researching. He isn't the best at uncovering information, but he does have certain contacts, and I intended for him to investigate them when we had more time."

That sparked more than a little curiosity in Taiki to meet Gumdramon. He frowned in thought over what the other two said.

"Maybe that's where he is? Checking those friends of his?"

Shoutmon shook his head right away. "We checked around there. Couldn't really find them but there wasn't even a footprint of Gumdramon's."

"And there were signs of a gateway having been opened and closed where he vanished from. The signs were very similar to the gate you arrived through." Wisemon turned his gaze onto Taiki. "We knew there would be a parallel gateway opening but not that it would be so high up or that you would be the one to arrive through it."

Taiki rubbed his eyes, trying to make some kind of sense of all of this. "Gateways?"

"We believe they are somehow involved in this," Wisemon said. "I've discovered traces of them before where the missing Digimon were last seen. And we have gathered up items found near the portals that we presume are from your world."

"Candy bar wrappers, someone's wallet, that kind of thing," Shoutmon said. "We keep them inside in case we can return them one day."

Then he shook his head and gripped Taiki around the waist once more. "But now that you're here, we're going to find a way for certain! But it's good to see you again, Taiki!"

Taiki knew Shoutmon more than well enough to guess that he wasn't nearly that cheerful under the surface. He'd ask later, when it was just the two of them. Along with whoever wanted to hide in the bushes to spy on them. He wouldn't put it past any of them to try that.

"So now what? Any other problems?" He wanted to get that out in the air first and foremost before they got started on the serious catching up they would have to do.

"Nothing all that hard. Just trying to make sure that everyone does their best so we have a peaceful world. So far we're doing great with it!"

Taiki nodded, glad to hear it. The last thing they needed was anything like the old war had been. He glanced down at his Xros Loader, still held hard in his grip.

"Where is everyone else? Blue Flare and Nene's team and all the rest?" He'd kept in loose touch with all the human friends he'd made once everything settled down. Now that he was here, he wanted to know about the Digimon friends too.

"Most of them have settled down. Blue Flare founded their own village about three valleys that way," Shoutmon said, jerking his thumb to the east. "Dracomon visits every now and then, brings us news and takes back anything they need."

"Hello, Taiki-dono!" A trio of voices spoke in flawless unison, followed a heartbeat later by a second batch. He turned to see Nene's Monitamon standing just on the edge of a thicket, with the Xros Heart Monitamon rising out of a pool of water. "It's good to see you again."

Clearly some things never changed.

Shoutmon tugged at Taiki's arm. "We can send everyone a message later so we can have a proper welcoming party for you. Then we can show you everything that we've been doing."

Taiki didn't want to miss that. He wanted to go home, but the idea of hanging around until he got caught up on everything certainly intrigued him. Besides, how long could it really take to find out what was going on and how to get back home?

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** It's obvious where Gumdramon is, of course. But that will be another story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Three|| **Words:** 3,632  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** Taiki and Shoutmon, just doing what they do when they're not saving the world.

* * *

Shoutmon hadn't thought a lot about where too many guests like Taiki would stay if they'd showed up. There had always been too many other things to deal with instead of guest quarters. But now he worked on tossing all the unnecessary things out of one of the spare rooms in his own quarters.

After all, there wasn't anywhere his General would sleep that wasn't near him. They'd gotten too used to that during the Xros Wars. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep at all if he knew Taiki was there but not _there_.

Besides, he really didn't want Taiki vanishing as fast as he'd shown up again. He had an entire world to show him and a visit of only a few days just wouldn't do it.

In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder if Gumdramon was on Earth and safe. Everything they'd figured out pointed toward the 'on Earth' part, but the 'safe', no one could be certain just yet.

He hoped the messengers to Blue Flare and the rest of their old friends would get back soon. The more they learned the better, and the sooner they would figure out what was going on in general.

"Shoutmon?" Taiki peeked into the room. Shoutmon pulled back from the pile of possessions almost at once.

"I thought they were showing you around the castle?" Shoutmon wondered, rubbing the back of his head. This wasn't the first impression that he'd really wanted to make.

Taiki shrugged. "They showed me a lot of it, but I started yawning, and the Monitamon said you'd be in here."

Wow, he could yawn and not pass out? Three years did make a difference! Though from the way his eyelids drooped, Taiki wouldn't be on his feet that much longer. Even then, he yawned deeply, holding on to the door.

Then Shoutmon wanted to smack himself and yanked the last few things out of what had been a spare room and would get refurnished into Taiki's room the moment Taiki wasn't in it long enough so people could do the work. There was a bed there already – Shoutmon had no idea of why, since he hadn't decorated this place at all, but it made for a good place to drag Taiki over and put him down before his eyes closed and in seconds, snores issued.

Shoutmon stared at the sleeping human for a few more minutes, still marveling that Taiki was there in the first place. He'd sort of figured that they'd never see each other again, that the stories of what happened would become little more than myths and legends, maybe even forgotten at some point. He wanted to make sure that would never happen, though he couldn't as yet figure out how.

Maybe once they got this confusing bit with vanishing Digimon sorted out, then he could get some ideas. Or maybe Taiki would be able to figure out something. He liked that possibility a lot.

Shoutmon started toward the door but stopped before going through it. He looked back at Taiki, then moved back over, picking up an elegantly carved stool and bringing it to settle next to the bed. He'd guarded Taiki like this several times and doing it again felt right. Like this was where the two of them belonged.

 _Don't fool yourself,_ Shoutmon berated. _He can't stay here forever._

Digimon belonged in the Digital World and humans belonged in the human world. That was just the way it had to be. He didn't have to like it. But sooner or later, everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be.

That in no way meant that he had to like it.

* * *

Taiki didn't have any idea of how long he slept, only that when he opened his eyes again, he could see stars out of the window over his bed, and there was a weird buzzing sound coming from next to him. He rolled over to take a look and blinked a few times, trying to get his mind wrapped around what he saw.

Shoutmon, every bit as out of it as he'd been fifteen minutes earlier, slouched down on a stool, eyes closed, mouth open, and those buzzing snores issuing from him.

Taiki shook his head and rubbed his eyes, half convinced he was dreaming, before everything clicked back into his head. The strange disappearances going on in the Digital World, the way he'd fallen in here between one breath and the next, and now being reunited with Shoutmon and all of his friends.

Well, he hadn't seen all of them _yet_ , but he would soon enough.

His stomach rumbled as he started to sit up, and as if he'd heard that in his own sleep, Shoutmon stirred, opened his eyes, and stared at Taiki for a breath. Then he sat up fast, rubbing at his eyes.

"Hey, Taiki! Feeling better?"

"Absolutely!" Taiki glanced down at his stomach then to his partner. He remembered what the meals were like in the Digital World. "Where can we get some food?"

Shoutmon bounced quickly onto his feet. "We're going to have the best DigiNoir available! And some surprises, too!"

Well, that sounded interesting. Taiki scrambled to his feet, checking the room out as they left. "Where did all of this come from?"

"A lot of it they gave to me," Shoutmon admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "When we got everything built and more Digimon started to acknowledge me as king. They'd show up to help or get advice and give me things."

Tribute. Tribute that Shoutmon had no idea of how to deal with. And right now the worst of it that he could see was that it was making a huge mess in Shoutmon's room.

Taiki wasn't the best at cleaning but he decided once he had a few minutes, he'd try to get all of this sorted out. Someone had to do it and clearly no one around here had the time. If nothing else, he didn't have anything to do here and it would give him something to occupy his time with.

At least it didn't get in the way too much as they headed out of the room and down to where Taiki guessed they would be having dinner.

Then something else occurred to him. "Were you in there with me the whole time?"

Shoutmon reddened again, not quite looking at him. "Well, we'd finished up work for the day by the time you showed up, so I didn't have anything else to really do."

Taiki guessed what Shoutmon didn't say: that he wouldn't neglect his people even for Taiki's sake. But that since he didn't have anything else to do, he'd abandoned whatever he did in his off hours – and kings probably didn't have many off hours – to spend it watching over Taiki.

He smiled. He couldn't have done anything else. It was really good to be back with the friends that he'd missed for so long.

Then Shoutmon opened a pair of wide doors and noise swept over them both fit to knock Taiki off his feet, forming one single shouted word from untold numbers of throats.

" _Taiki_!"

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** There are a lot of Digimon who want to say hi.


	4. Chapter 4

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Four|| **Words:** 4,844  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** Time for Taiki to spend some time with his friends!

* * *

Taiki never forgot a single member of Xros Heart. They were his friends and his allies, fighting beside him whenever he needed them. Technically by the end of the war, his forces, combined with that of Kiriha and Nene, made a much larger army, one that he didn't know if it counted as just Xros Heart. But here they all were, everyone who had once lived in his Xros Loader, all those who made up the very heart of Xros Heart.

And they all surged forward, doing their best to get a hand or whatever appendage they had on him, some tearing up in greeting, some just trying to hold on to him. He tried to hold back, as thrilled to see all of them as they were to see him.

"Taiki! Taiki!" The voices just kept on rising in joy and he found himself passed from Digimon to Digimon, soon breathless and gasping with how tightly they hugged him.

"Hi, guys!" He managed to gasp out, stumbling away from the hugging to find himself at the head of a broad table. Shoutmon was there, and Beelzebumon, and Doroulumon, plus Cutemon – and his parents, which didn't surprise him. Trays of DigiNoir had been stacked nearby, along with vessels of water. Shoutmon gestured to a chair near him.

"Good to see you again," Doroulumon greeted, lifting up his head. "How long are you going to stay?"

"I don't know yet," Taiki admitted, dropping into the chair and trying hard to catch his breath. Being greeted by everyone tired him out almost as much as falling out of the sky and being shown around town had. "Guess it depends on what Wisemon finds out."

Wisemon, a few seats down, barely looked up from his book. "It could be quite a while. We haven't learned much about the portals yet." Then he raised his head to stare at Taiki. "We haven't been able to speak to anyone who crossed through them before now."

Shoutmon shook his head. "Not right now, Wisemon. Taiki needs to eat: and so do you."

Wisemon looked down at his plate of DigiNoir, confusion lit bright before he started to eat, absorbed in his book without another moment's hesitation. Taiki chuckled for a few moments.

"There's not much to tell, really. I was just heading to meet Zenjirou when I was just kind of in that tunnel between worlds. It didn't look anything like the place between zones did when we were here before."

He slipped his Xros Loader out of his pocket and stared at it thoughtfully for a few moments before he put it away. An idea floated in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to try it in front of everyone. He'd practically just got there. Running off right away would be rude.

The DigiNoir was indeed some of the best; it came in all qualities as he remembered, and this tasted head and shoulders above everything else. What came after surprised him.

"Cake? Cookies?" He almost had forgotten the Sweets Zone. The Digimon who'd lived there once hadn't forgotten him, and now they spread their offerings before him, along with fresh squeezed juice and several samples of excellent teas.

"All the best for you, General!" WaruMonzaemon declared with a cheerful smile. "We hope you enjoy it!"

One taste exploded over his tongue like the cake version of absolute heaven. He didn't bother doing anything but nodding as he ate as much of the cake as he could, wishing he could bring some of this back home with him.

He tried his best to pay attention to the conversation going on, most of it having to do with the missing Digimon. He heard names, though not that many were familiar to him: Gumdramon, Dracmon, Psychemon, Dobermon, and many others. Most vanished without a trace, much like Gumdramon had.

"There are a few of them who did leave traces," Shoutmon said. "Everything around them was just shredded. Burnt, sometimes."

Taiki nibbled around the edges of a finely crafted cookie. "Could you show me?"

"Sure, but not until morning. It's getting pretty late." Shoutmon turned to the nearest window, where streaks of shadows already hung thick and dark. "We should all get some rest soon." He looked back at the table and snorted. "Some of us more than others."

Taiki followed the way Shoutmon looked and stifled a laugh very unsuccessfully.

Wisemon's book had tumbled to the side and he lay face down on the table, snoring rather loudly. He really did not change that much.

* * *

"So the former Red General has returned. Has there been any sign of the others?"

"Not yet. Apparently there's no rhyme or reason to those who come through the portal."

"I see. We may not have to put up with the others, but watch for them, nevertheless. That one of them, _this_ one, is here is quite enough of an annoyance."

"Is there anything else that I can do for you, my lord?"

"Not at the moment. Return there by dawn and observe what he does. If any of it could be of use to me, then inform me as soon as possible."

"As you wish!"

* * *

Taiki and Shoutmon, both full to the brim with DigiNoir and desserts, made their way back to their shared rooms. Taiki almost couldn't wrap his mind about the fact of being able to sleep in a warm bed with clean blankets and under a stout roof in the Digital World. They'd had times during his first visit when they'd had a comfortable place to rest, but for the most part, they'd made so night after night with whatever shelter they could find.

Doroulumon and Cutemon had carried Wisemon back to his quarters. Taiki looked forward to teaming up with everyone the next day and doing something that could bring some kind of answers. All their brains working together solved a lot of things before. He didn't see why this would be any different.

He threw a glance behind them for a few moments and wasn't surprised to see Shoutmon doing the same thing.

"You see them?" Taiki murmured, keeping his voice just pitched where no one else could hear him. Shoutmon nodded, eyes faintly narrowed. "Can you tell who it is?"

"Not yet," Shoutmon murmured. "They're not that close."

Just close enough so the two of them could be certain they were being followed, too far away for either of them to see or smell whoever it might be. Taiki wished some of the others were with them. Doroulumon's nose would have been very useful right about then. But they had to make do with what they had, which was the two of them and the door to their rooms that they could close and lock.

Just because someone followed them didn't mean it was an enemy, though. Everything he'd found out on their trip before told him that Digimon were basically good and his wish on the Code Crown had made that a reality for all of them.

So why did he still have a thread of fear rising up his back as they closed the door and why did he not completely trust the locked door to keep them safe all the time?

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I have such plans!


	5. Chapter 5

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Five|| **Words:** 6,137  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** When there's a problem, you have to figure out what it is before you can solve it.

* * *

Wisemon gestured to the table in his laboratory, strewn with all manner of items, none of which seemed to have any connection to each other. Just as he'd been told, Taiki recognized random bits of trash and small items that looked like they could have come from anywhere and anyone. He started to reach for one of them, pulled back by Wisemon's words.

"I wouldn't if I were you. I don't think they have any diseases attached to them but better safe than sorry."

Taiki pulled his hands back right away, setting them behind his back and offering a quick grin. "You're right." He stared at the collection before him, trying to figure out if any of this made any sense.

Shoutmon peered at it all himself, but kept his hands away from it without any prodding. "What do you think?"

"I think I don't know what to think," Taiki admitted. He considered, starting to pat himself down as he did. He still had his Xros Loader and most of everything else that he remembered having in his pockets. Anything he didn't have, he didn't know if he'd somehow left it behind or if it had been taken from him when he'd fallen into this world.

At least none of it was anything that he would actually need right now. He had his Xros Loader and that remained his most valuable item while he was here, that and Xros Heart itself.

He stared down at the items a little more, trying to put it together with everything he'd already heard. Most of it seemed pretty simple: the stuff they had here had somehow been traded for the Digimon who'd vanished. But exactly how that had been set up and who arranged it, that he couldn't figure out.

"Is there anyone around who might have tried something like this? Trading out Digimon for this?" He gestured at the table and everything on it. Wisemon shook his head slowly.

"There have been a few Digimon who haven't accepted Shoutmon as the King," Wisemon said. "For the most part they haven't really caused many problems, but they also don't seem able to do this. They seem to be more interested in crafting their own kingdoms than anything else."

Shoutmon nodded, twirling his microphone as he spoke. "We're going to talk to them about alliances later. Don't want to do it right now, they'd probably think we didn't take them seriously. So when their places are set up and as settled as we are, then we'll see what we can do."

"Look for things that you need that they have, and things that you have that they don't," Taiki suggested. "That would be the best way to do it." He was pretty sure he remembered that from some of his classes.

He ran a hand through his hair, avoiding his goggles out of habit, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling. They really needed to figure this out, if only to have an idea of how he would be able to get home. He couldn't stay here forever – though it wasn't going to be a bad visit.

 _I need to at least tell Mom I'm okay._ He hoped he'd be able to get in touch with any of the others – Kiriha or Nene or Yuu – and they could pass it along, if he couldn't speak to her directly. There was a time difference between the worlds, wasn't there? He remembered something to that effect.

"Maybe we can ask them if they know something now, though?" Taiki asked. "If they don't know anything about it, they should know something about people that you don't know." He thought more about what he'd seen during the Xros Wars. "Is Lucemon still around? Maybe he'd know something." After all, he did spend all that time reading in the library. He had to have picked up _something_!

Shoutmon considered that for a few moments. "I think he might be, but I haven't seen him since the war ended. But we can get in touch with Shakkoumon and find out. I'll send someone."

Taiki nodded; if Lucemon wasn't around, then Shakkoumon might know himself, or know someone who knew. There would be answers somewhere. The trick remained in uncovering them.

For now, they needed to figure out what else could be done here. He still wanted to touch base with the other friends who hadn't made it back yet – Blue Flare would probably take their own sweet time showing up – and it wouldn't hurt to see what else was going on in the Digital World. He really wanted to see everything that Shoutmon had going that he hadn't been able to yet. What he saw now was so much different from what he'd seen before.

Something else occurred to him. "Is there a list of all the Digimon who have vanished? Maybe we can find out something that they have in common."

"I can create one," Wisemon offered. He looked around for a moment before clearing his throat. "Witchmon? I need your help!"

Taiki blinked at that. "Witchmon?"

Wisemon's scarf tinged ever so faintly. One thing Taiki learned during the Xros Wars was that his scarf often showed Wisemon's emotions as clearly as his face would have, if his face were visible.

Or maybe the scarf _was_ his face. He didn't know and he'd never asked.

"My assistant. My other assistant, at least." Wisemon looked as if he were about to say something else when a cloud of reddish smoke filled the air without warning. Taiki squawked in surprise; nothing had exploded, but the smoke was there anyway.

"I'm not just your assistant." A female voice spoke from the depths of the smoke. "I'm your _sister_."

There was a motion only barely visible from the depths of the cloud, then the cloud itself vanished. There stood a tall female Digimon, garbed in a tight-fitting red dress and a pointy scarlet had. On her shoulder there perched a small black cat that peered curiously at Taiki in near perfect unison with its mistress.

"And who is _this_?" Witchmon asked, tilting her head. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"This is Kudou Taiki," Shoutmon introduced him. Taiki waved at her and Witchmon nodded, blue eyes skating up and down him. "He's my General."

"Oh, yes, I have heard such _interesting_ stories about you." Witchmon chuckled softly, a thread of amusement winding through her voice that set Taiki a little on his guard. "I'd like to hear more about them, too."

"Sure." Taiki hadn't ever backed down from any sort of opponent and didn't see a reason to start now, even when he didn't know if Witchmon _was_ an opponent. "But we sort of need to find out what's going on with these disappearing Digimon first. That's what Wisemon wants you here for."

"Is that all?" She sniffed briefly before raising one hand and snapping her large fingers together. A sharp spark of sound echoed throughout the room as a roll of paper appeared in her hand. "Here you go. _Someone_ has to keep track of all of this chaos." Her lips curved into a brief, wicked smile. "After all, chaos isn't any fun if everyone ignores it."

She tossed the paper to Wisemon, who handed it over to Taiki. "Don't start your tricks, Witchmon," Wisemon admonished her. "There's too much that we have to do."

"I'm sure, I'm sure. Call me if there's something important. Or if there's something fun to watch." Another movement of her hands and a long broom appeared that she mounted. "See you around, General."

Wisemon sighed as she soared out the window, laughter echoing. "One day I should study families," he muttered. "But not today."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** In fairness, the idea of Witchmon & Wisemon being siblings originally came (so far as I know) from SilvorMoon. When I decided to include Witchmon into the story, I decided to use that concept. And yes, for those of you who remember a minor mostly background character, this is the Witchmon who appears in episode 68 & is partnered to Haruki. Why should I turn down the chance to create angst for characters, right? When do I ever turn that down, anyway? Also, this could mean Haruki and Witchmon will appear in stories of their own. We'll see what the future holds. I get to create Haruki's personality wholesale if I do!


	6. Chapter 6

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Six|| **Words:** 7,390  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** And now another friend turns up! This is not in any way plot related! Really!

* * *

Taiki stared at his Xros Loader and prodded it for the fifth time that day. It did exactly what it did all the other times: absolutely nothing whatsoever. For all that he knew, it wasn't even working except _maybe_ as a communications device, one that he didn't need so far as he was in this world with the rest of Xros Heart. It did occasionally provide information on Digimon he knew nothing about – and there were more of those than he'd ever thought – but aside from that, it sat in his pocket and did nothing.

With a sigh he shoved it back in and stared out the window. He wanted to go out and do something, if he'd only had an idea of what to do.

 _Four days._ He wrinkled his nose at the thought but that didn't change anything. Here he was, four days into a visit he hadn't expected, and while things happened, they weren't things that he understood or could do anything to help with.

With a sigh he threw himself to his feet and wandered through the corridors until he came outside. Shoutmon usually was up to his neck in work this time of day and it wasn't anything Taiki could help with.

 _So what am I going to do here?_ There wasn't a war to fight, not this time. The missing Digimon kept his attention most of the time, but he still hadn't found out anything about them that he could really do. They vanished. Odd debris appeared in their place. That was it.

He stared up at the sky. There were a few Digimon flying around up there and he guessed at least a few of those were on patrol of some kind, guarding the king's palace from the air. Taiki couldn't help but remain so very proud of what Shoutmon accomplished since their parting.

One of the specks seemed to be getting closer to him. He tilted his head, trying to get a better look, and blinked when white wings resolved themselves into view.

"Lucemon!"

Part of him remained a fraction wary of the beautiful angelic Digimon. He couldn't forget Lucemon's deceptions. But all of that was behind them now, wasn't it? Lucemon wouldn't even _be_ there if he hadn't chosen a better way, would he?

So far as Taiki knew that was how it worked. Tight tension still rippled through him as Lucemon stopped above him, speaking with one of the airborne defenders. They were too high up for Taiki to hear what they were saying, but Lucemon's smile remained brilliant enough to be seen from above and he waved cheerfully before starting to edge downward.

Taiki waved back, taking a few steps forward as Lucemon landed and folded his wings behind his back. "Nice to see you again," Taiki offered. Lucemon's smile grew even brighter.

"Likewise, Kudou Taiki. Shakkoumon told me that you required information?"

"That's right." Taiki nodded, wondering if they should get hold of Shoutmon first. _No, I can just tell him later._ Being king meant a lot of important duties and Taiki thought he could manage this. "We've got a problem with disappearing Digimon."

He quickly laid it all out for Lucemon, who listened intently, arms crossed over his chest, a thoughtful look to his gentle eyes. Taiki wanted to get caught up on whatever Lucemon had been up to in the last few years, but business remained more important, at least for right now.

Once he finished, Lucemon tapped his fingers on his arms, the tips of his wings twitching in the warm wind.

"I have to say that I haven't heard much about vanishing Digimon lately," he said at last, and Taiki tried to hold back how disappointed he was. "But I seem to recall having read something to that effect at one point. I don't remember all of the details, unfortunately." A faint embarrassed smile touched onto his lips. "I read that before I met you, you see."

Taiki fidgeted at that, offering up a small smile of his own. "That's all right. If you do find out anything that can help, let us know?"

"Absolutely! I would dearly love to demonstrate my loyalty to our king." Lucemon's eyes flicked this way and that. "And where is His Majesty today?"

"He's working on some of his projects right now. But it's almost lunch time so we can see him then." Taiki started to turn away, then glanced back. "How long can you stay?"

Lucemon shrugged. "I would like to return to the library as soon as I can to locate the books I remember. But I can stay for a while, so long as it isn't more than a day or two."

"Want to have lunch with us?" Taiki asked. He'd seen a lot of old friends and old enemies since his arrival, and seeing so many of them with a glorious new lease on life thrilled him down to the core. "It's DigiNoir!"

He wasn't at all surprised to hear Lucemon laugh, a kind sound so unlike what he'd made back in the old days. "I would be honored." Lucemon started to take a step forward, then faltered. "I feel I should tell you, however, that I've heard rumors of Digimon who would rather someone who wasn't Shoutmon was king. What they plan to do about it – if anything – I don't know. And these Digimon aren't just those who choose to set up their own lands. These wish to dispose of Shoutmon permanently."

Taiki's spine tingled at that. "That's not possible, is it? Digimon can't be killed permanently." He vividly remembered that. That had been what ended up saving the world in the end, that and their ties to one another.

"As a normal thing, no, it can't be done. But there are also ways around that. As in your world, data can be eliminated on a permanent basis. Here, it requires certain preparations. I don't know if they've made those preparations, or if it's just rumors and ghost talk. But if I were you, I would watch Shoutmon's back."

With every word that Lucemon spoke, Taiki's insides grew tighter and colder. He swallowed for a few seconds.

"I didn't think any Digimon would be willing to do that anymore," he said at last, working the words out. "I thought -" He'd thought they would all be _good_ now.

Lucemon shook his head and adjusted his tunic briefly. "Your wish on the Code Crown gave Digimon back their free will, to choose which path in life they wish to follow. While I'm certain the vast majority of them chose to be kind to others and to do no harm, there are also Digimon who freely choose to… not do that." His features saddened. "Perhaps you can explain to them and they'll choose otherwise, but for now, I repeat, it would be best to guard Shoutmon. As well as to warn him."

"Right." Taiki nodded, steeling himself, fighting the fears down as deep as they could go. "Come on, we can go tell Shoutmon together."

Lucemon nodded, that sweet smile that looked so genuine appearing again. "And I do have somewhat better news than dire warnings and fearful predictions for you."

"You do?"

The angel gestured outward and Taiki followed the movement. "I believe some old friends of yours have arrived."

Taiki's own smile burst over his lips and he started to wave in hopes of getting their attention. "Hey! Hey! Greymon! Mail Birdramon!"

Blue Flare had arrived.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** If I got any more innocent, I'd be sprouting angel wings of my own.


	7. Chapter 7

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Seven|| **Words:** 8,634  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** Can't forget Blue Flare!

* * *

"Guys! Guys!" Taiki ran as fast as he could, pitching to a halt in front of Mail Birdramon. Dracomon, hidden neatly in the shadows cast by his larger teammates, darted forward and wrapped his arms affectionately around Taiki.

"Good to see you!" The small dragon declared. Well, small, but bigger than he had been, coming almost up to Taiki's waist now. There were a few scars as well, ones well healed and well faded, and Taiki couldn't help but wonder what Kiriha would think of those.

But he had little time to think on that, as Greymon and Mail Birdramon leaned in closer to sniff faintly at him.

"You've gotten bigger," Greymon said at last. "Where's Kiriha?"

That didn't even come close to surprising Taiki. He shrugged. "Last I heard, still on Earth. I talked to him last week, though. He's been traveling, but he didn't say where he was." He usually didn't, unless he were going to be in the area, and that didn't happen very often.

Mail Birdramon and Greymon shifted a trifle in that, Greymon's claws tightening before he sighed. "So why did you show up and no one else did?"

"You got me. I wasn't planning to come at all." Taiki shrugged, nodding a greeting towards Shoutmon as the other came up to greet his old friends. "Wisemon's still working on finding out just what's been going on."

"So how're things going at your place, old man?" Shoutmon asked, banging one fist against Greymon's side. The larger Digimon bent down to give him a look, and Taiki wasn't surprised to see a hint of humor in his eyes.

"Better defended than they are here, pipsqueak. There aren't many who'd try to attack us with our defenses." Greymon raised his head to look at the others who'd come along with him: Golemon and Apemon, Gaossmon and Bombmon, plus others that Taiki didn't recognize off the top of his head. He'd never been formally introduced to all the members of Kiriha's army, but he wished his friend could have been there to see them all again. He could also see why not too many would want to attack them.

"Where's Deckerdramon?" Taiki wondered. That was someone he knew would want to see Kiriha if the former Blue General ever found his way back here.

"He's at his temple again," Mail Birdramon told him, shuffling his wings as he perched. "We sent a messenger to let him know that you were here and I suspect he'll join us eventually."

Taiki nodded. He settled himself down on a tree stump, smiling cheerfully at all of them. "Did Shoutmon let you know about what's been going on?"

"Only that a few Digimon have vanished and nothing left behind," Greymon said, settling himself down. "What else do you know?"

"Not much. Like I said, Wisemon's working on it." Taiki drummed his fingers on Shoutmon's metallic shoulder. "I want to at least get in touch with people back home." He fished his Xros Loader out of his pocket and stared down at it. He flicked it briefly, but nothing happened. "Nothing."

Shoutmon peered at the Xros Loader, poking it with the tip of a claw. "Have you let Wisemon check this? Might help."

"He's looked at it a little but he's been busier with checking on whatever's left behind." Taiki wasn't all that certain of what the Xros Loader could have to do with everything, since it had been with him on Earth before this, and the other people who had them didn't come here too.

That would have been good. Having his friends would have been _so_ good.

"We should tell him," Dracomon said, his head swiveling between Taiki, Mail Birdramon, and Greymon. "He needs to know."

Taiki sat up a little straighter at that. So did Shoutmon.

"Know about what?" The Digimon King wanted to know, as wary as Taiki himself right now. Things they didn't know about from faraway places never tended to be _good_ things.

Mail Birdramon and Greymon looked at each other, then back at Dracomon. "I suppose he's right," Mail Birdramon said at last. "We were going to tell Shoutmon anyway."

Greymon nodded, his tail swishing uncomfortably before he turned his attention back to Shoutmon and Taiki. "Digimon have vanished from our area as well." He twisted his head around to look at the small gathering of Blue Flare Digimon. From the middle of the pack there came what Taiki thought at first was a huge dog, maybe a Doberman, wearing a spiked collar around its neck, with sharp claws and thoughtful gray green eyes.

"This is Dobermon," Dracomon said, holding one claw out to the approaching Digimon. "She joined pretty late in the war. I don't think you ever met her."

"I don't think so. Nice to fix that," Taiki said, automatically reaching one hand out toward Dobermon. For a moment he wondered if that had somehow been offensive, until Dobermon leaned forward and sniffed briefly. She gazed up at him before she spoke.

"When the first Digimon began to disappear, I started to check around for any indications of who might be involved. I didn't smell anything that shouldn't be there. Only those who'd _been_ there and then weren't there. The same holds true at every place I've checked. Whatever causes this, it leaves no traces behind of itself. _Every_ Digimon has a scent of some sort or leaves tracks or leaves something. Whatever this is, it doesn't. If it's a Digimon, then it's not like one I've ever met before."

Taiki listened, wondering if she had anything else to say. She did.

"Two days ago my cousin vanished. He'd spoken to me of humans before. He'd never seen one – he wasn't old enough or strong enough to join in the war. He hid in a protected area as long as he could until everything settled. But he'd wanted to meet a human, to see what they're like."

Her eyes didn't waver from his. Taiki considered that carefully. "Do you think that's what they've got in common? That they wanted to meet humans?"

"It's not impossible. Some of them only met you Generals. Some didn't even do that." Her claws dug into the earth beneath her. "We would have to do a test to see if this could be possible."

"What kind of test?" Shoutmon asked, wariness touching every line of him.

"Find out which one of your subjects here – of all Digimon everywhere – would like to meet a human or to have a human partner, and which ones don't. There will be more disappearances – we don't have any way to stop them and we _still_ don't know who is doing this, let alone why. But that will at least tell us more than we know now."

Shoutmon and Taiki exchanged glances. Taiki nodded slowly, before he glanced back at Shoutmon. "Lucemon showed up. He said that he might be able to find something about who could be causing these disappearances. But he'd need to research more in the library."

"Lucemon's here?" Shoutmon perked up at that. "We can all have dinner, then!" He banged Greymon again on the leg. "Hear that, old man? Think you can find your way to the dining room or should we get you a guide?"

Taiki held back a snicker, if only by effort, as he started to head back in. Maybe with Dobermon and Lucemon helping Wisemon, they could get those answers.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Yes, Dobermon's cousin is a Dobermon. In fact, he's Hideaki's Dobermon. Now, who would send Digimon to Earth who want to go meet humans? And why?

Also, I have a Very Evil Idea coming in the next chapter. Which, should all go as planned, will be posted next Monday. Do feel free to imagine evil cackling. Because I am evil cackling.


	8. Chapter 8

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Eight|| **Words:** 9,838  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** A few answers arrive but not nearly as many as they really need.

* * *

Taiki knew what Wisemon, Witchmon, Lucemon, and Dobermon talked about. It wasn't that difficult; they'd discussed it in a multitude of ways since dinner started. Shoutmon and some of the others offered options as well – such as talking to friends or kin of the missing Digimon to see if they'd mentioned an interest in humans or the human world – and Wisemon and Witchmon spent at least part of dinner talking to everyone there, taking notes on the relevant interest.

But knowing about it didn't mean it could latch onto his interest when there wasn't that much he could do about it. The fact he was there did sort of seem to be relevant, since it meant a lot of the Digimon who were interested in humans could just come and talk to him. At least he could do that much.

 _Only that isn't going to get the ones that are already gone back._ Still, it might be able to help. Maybe thin out the ranks of those who could be taken? Taiki wasn't going to complain about that.

A hand touched his; for a brief second he wondered if it were another human somehow, until he looked to see Lucemon looking at him. "You seem distracted," the angel murmured. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Taiki waved one hand, bringing up a smile. "It looks like the plan could work, doesn't it?"

"That it does." Lucemon tilted his head, offering a small, sweet smile of his own. He glanced over to where Wisemon and Witchmon were busy talking to another batch of Digimon, taking copious notes as they did, then to Shoutmon, who was up to his ears talking with Dobermon and Beelzebumon. Then he turned back to Taiki. "Would you care for a walk? I could use something to clear my head."

Taiki didn't even bother to think about it. He was on his feet a breath later, the two of them heading out side by side. He waved briefly towards Shoutmon as he left, the king nodding back a bit absently. Taiki didn't blame him, given how busy he was at the moment.

Together they headed down the nearest corridor and up a set of stairs that led to a series of connected hallways and rooms. Most of them were in good shape, though a few looked as if they needed better furnishings or more regular cleanings. Or just to be visited more often, maybe.

"His Majesty has been putting quite a bit of work into sorting the world out," Lucemon said, bare feet silent on the carpeted floors. "All of this is just setting matters back."

Taiki wrinkled his nose. "I hope we can get it sorted out soon. It's driving everyone up the wall."

"Except whoever is behind it," Lucemon pointed out. "I'm quite certain that they're enjoying this to the hilt."

Taiki nodded. He didn't like the idea, at least not until he had a better idea of who _was_ behind it, but Lucemon was right.

That made him shiver a little. He wasn't going to forget the battle they'd had all those years ago. At least Lucemon had made the right choice, even if not everyone in the Digital World had.

Taiki glanced around as they came to a stop on a balcony. They were higher than he'd ever been before, at least since he'd actually landed here. He peered over the balcony railing, shivering as he saw just how high up they really were. Far below he could see the tiny movements of the guards, and wondered if they could see him if they looked up.

"It's quiet up here," Lucemon said. Taiki glanced over to see his companion staring up at the glittering stars. "Almost as quiet as it can be at the library."

"Do you really think that you can find out who's doing this there?"

Lucemon smiled. A strange trickle of warning made its way down Taiki's back at the sight. That wasn't the sort of smile Lucemon displayed the rest of the day. "Oh, I do. It might take some effort, but I think I can do it."

Taiki pressed his lips together, trying to figure out why he was suddenly so wary. Lucemon was his friend now, wasn't it? Could he really be getting so upset by a simple look?

Lucemon turned his gaze upward again. "Would you like to go flying? It's a beautiful night up there."

 _Don't be stupid._ Taiki told himself that and he wanted to believe that he wasn't being. But the longer he spent time with Lucemon alone, the more every instinct that he had started to bubble through his veins, to watch his back, to protect himself, to _not be alone_ with him.

Slowly he shook his head. He liked the idea of flying – he thought he wouldn't mind going up with Beelzebumon if they had some time – but the idea of doing it with Lucemon at night, when they were already so high up in the air… that he wasn't going to trust.

Lucemon tilted his head, his sweet smile reappearing. "Oh? Why not?"

"Not in the mood." Taiki wasn't all that inclined towards lying, but he was more than willing to shade the truth, especially in certain situations. Like when it could save his own life.

He glanced over his shoulder to the stairs that led back downwards. "Let's go back down. They should be done by now and I want to see what Wisemon and Witchmon found out." They should at least have a good list by now, even if it wasn't a complete one.

Taiki took a few steps toward the stairs. He could feel Lucemon joining him, more a sense of his presence than hearing him walk. Then Lucemon's hand rested on his shoulder for a brief second.

"I would say that I'm sorry about this, but I really don't feel like lying to you."

It happened very fast. Taiki started to open his mouth to ask what Lucemon meant, turning as he did. It was probably the turning that saved his life, since it meant the sharp-edged knife slid into him at a different angle than Lucemon attempted.

Silver-white pain blossomed up from his back and Taiki stopped in his tracks, eyes wide and shocked. Lucemon smiled down at him as he caught Taiki, whose legs refused to support him now. The pain grew greater and greater with each moment, shadows gathering thick and tight all around him.

He wanted to push away, but there wasn't any way that he could. Lucemon held him close, and Taiki could see bright red spilling over him. His head spun and his eyes fluttered, pain filling every part of himself. He tried move his arms, at least, but nothing wanted to react except the pulsating wound.

"You'll be fine. I'll see to it. I'm terribly afraid you're going to have to die, but you'll be fine after that. I won't regret a thing."

Why could he still hear Lucemon? Taiki didn't have the energy to think it through, especially not as he felt himself lifted up into the air and away from Shoutmon's castle, and the darkness folded itself in on him.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** In all honesty, my original plan was just to have Lucemon poison Taiki. (Yes, Lucemon still being evil is what I had in mind from the moment I chose to put him in this. He practically broadcast it to Taiki!) Ahem. But as I wrote this, I realized that if Lucemon wanted to kill Taiki, he could do it very easily in this situation. Everyone trusts him right now. They're not going to come running for Taiki. A couple of good knife stabs or dropping him from half a mile in the air and Taiki's done for. So, something else suggested itself.

And I make no promises that Taiki will safely return to Shoutmon and friends by the end of chapter eleven. This is a series, after all.


	9. Chapter 9

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Nine|| **Words:** 11,051  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** Whatever is Lucemon up to?

* * *

Lucemon flew as fast as he could toward his new home. He hadn't lied all _that_ much. He did visit the library, read everything that he hadn't managed to read the first time around, and it was there that he'd found what he intended to put to use now.

Taiki hadn't stopped breathing yet, though each movement remained slow and swallow, a bit staggered. Lucemon knew that he needed to hurry to get there before it was too late.

 _What a treasure I'll have._ There was a bond between Kudou Taiki and the members of Xros Heart, one that would last all their lives. So what information he'd been able to dig up concerning Xros Leaders, the Generals, and those who worked with them said.

Only one thing could break that bond and Lucemon rejoiced that he'd taken the first step towards severing it: he'd killed Taiki.

Taiki wouldn't stay dead, though. Lucemon wanted something more than just a dead General. His nature led him to corrupt and destroy everything within his reach, and Taiki wasn't any exception.

Besides, the look on Shoutmon's face once he saw the _new_ Taiki would be far, far too fascinating to turn down.

There! His retreat unfolded itself before him, a glorious castle of shining white crystal. Far more suitable to someone of his stature than that pathetic place of Shoutmon's ever would be.

Under other circumstances he might well have just landed at the bottom floor and escorted Taiki in like that. He'd planned just so if Taiki accepted his offer of a flight. He would have next offered to show Taiki where he lived, and once they were here, and far away from anyone else, the knife would've gone between his ribs.

But Taiki had to refuse him, turn away from him.

Lucemon hated being rejected. Lucemon couldn't _stand_ being rejected. So he did what came naturally to him.

Now, he carried Taiki in through one of the upper windows, open to the sun and wind, and settled him down on the pristine white marble altar there. Taiki's eyelids fluttered, his eyes beneath glazed and shot through with pain. Lucemon patted him on the shoulder with one blood-stained hand.

"You don't need to be afraid. This won't take much longer and you'll feel _much_ better afterward."

Taiki tried to say something. Lucemon wasn't certain of what it was, and was even less certain that he cared. He would have to complete the ritual before there was any chance that Shoutmon or one of his servants could find their way here.

He almost wished that he were responsible for the Digimon going to the human world. That would've made for a splendid distraction to keep the so-called king and his pesky pawns from finding him before it was too late.

 _I'll just have to settle for them not knowing where we are and not being able to find us before I'm done._

He moved around the altar to where he stored his tools, lighting deathly white candles and letting his favored incense waft through the room. Those weren't necessary for what he intended to do but they would set the atmosphere the way he wanted it and that put him in the correct frame of mind.

Carefully he pressed his fingers against Taiki's pulse, pleased to see it had almost stuttered to a halt. Only a few more moments remained. He glanced outside; they were still in the depths of night. In fact, the time was almost right. Even with the last minute change of plans, Taiki would breath his last at almost the stroke of midnight.

Lucemon raised the blood-soaked blade, letting it gleam in starlight and moonlight, reaching outward to grasp a firm mental hold of the data that made up the world and made up Kudou Taiki. He could feel that last data trying to slip away and he tightened his grip, not letting it fade.

If anyone had been able to hear him, it wasn't likely they would understand him, unless they spoke the hidden language of demons. Perhaps Lilithmon could have or even Bagramon or Dark Knightmon. But none of them were there at the moment.

Though in truth, Lucemon thought that he'd sensed Bagramon still existing somewhere in the cosmos. He hadn't been able to pin down where or how or why, but every now and then, there would be the vaguest of sensations that the old fool existed somewhere.

Perhaps he and his future companion would seek him out one day, once Shoutmon and his pretensions to kingship were no more. Lucemon quite looked forward to that day, regardless of what else he did.

The words continued to flow from him, the energy created and strengthened by them and by Taiki's lifeblood spilling weaving together with them.

As the midnight hour unfolded, Lucemon spoke the final words of binding and erasing and changing. Once he did, a thick cocoon of deep violet threads wrapped around Taiki, who hadn't breathed in nearly a minute. Lucemon ran his bloody fingers through Taiki's hair.

 _You won't be gone long. Don't be afraid. And when you come back, you'll be just what I want you to be._

A human would have done this differently. At least in their world, they would have. Humans would call this a deletion and a rewrite, or even a simple reprogramming, to get a new program in a different look that would do what the programmer wanted to do.

Lucemon called it death because he'd killed Taiki and he called it a rebirth because he'd rewoven all of the data and code involved in Taiki's existence in the Digital World to be what he wanted Taiki to be. No longer human, at least not down at his core. There would be a few memories left, but Lucemon did all that he could to make certain those didn't rise very often.

 _He'll need a new name._ This was a form of evolution, perhaps, and that definitely required a new name. He considered a few before an idea sparked and he smiled. Oh, perfect. Absolutely _perfect_.

Taiki remained in the cocoon, not moving, not a single breath of life in him. It would take time until he emerged, Lucemon knew. All of the books he'd researched indicated it could take up to a day and a night for the new programming to take hold. Perhaps he should patrol the area, if only to take up time until then.

 _No. I'll stay here._ Lucemon knew that sooner or later, Shoutmon and his army would turn up, either heading directly here or just floundering randomly in search of him and Taiki. He refused to let Taiki out from under his watch until after he'd emerged from the cocoon. He wanted to see the new beauty of what he'd created in that first moment of birth regardless. It would be magnificent. He didn't doubt that at all.

What would be even better would be if Shoutmon arrived when Taiki emerged. Now _that_ would be something to look forward to. The look on his face when Shoutmon realized that his General didn't exist anymore and Lucemon had a new ally, companion, consort...

No. Not Kudou Taiki, not anymore.

Lucemon anticipated the birth of Omrimon.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** "Omri" means either 'life' or 'servant' in Hebrew, and was also the name of a king in the Old Testament, who was denounced as being wicked. According to Behind The Name, anyway. Thought it was a good name for Lucemon to pick for reprogrammed Taiki.


	10. Chapter 10

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Ten|| **Words:** 12,290  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** A lot of sadness for Xros Heart and friends.

* * *

Shoutmon stopped in his tracks, eyes darting from one side to the other. His heart beat a trifle faster and sweat sprang up over every inch of himself. He jerked his head up, looking at the few other members of Xros Heart in the room.

It was late; getting close to time to turn in. Nothing should have been happening, but all of them stared at one another. Something somewhere was going wrong. Had gone wrong.

 _Taiki?_ Shoutmon recalled seeing him leave a bit earlier with Lucemon. Everything had been fine then.

"Find Taiki and Lucemon!" Shoutmon ordered. "Let me know as soon as you do!" He whirled to where Greymon and Dracomon moved up closer to him. "Come on, we're going to check outside!"

He bounced up on top of Greymon and whacked him with his microphone. "Let's go!"

Dracomon joined him, wrapping arms around Shoutmon's waist. "What's going on, Your Majesty?" He fidgeted. "I know something's wrong but I don't know what."

"Neither do I. Something's up with Taiki, that's all I _do_ know." Ever since he and Taiki met for the first time, there'd been a connection between them. It was why he was the center of Xros Heart, the chief partner Digimon to his General.

And now that connection frayed ever so slowly, the line that bound the two of them thinning and on the edge of breaking. His throat dried at the very thought of it.

 _It wasn't like this even when he went to his own world. So what's the problem?_

Greymon tilted his head towards them as they headed outside, Mail Birdramon coasting overhead. "We can feel it too. Not as strong as you, I think, but something isn't right."

"We've never felt anything like this from Kiriha," Mail Birdramon called downward. "It's strange."

Shoutmon wasn't going to argue that point. Not when his stomach churned and his heart beat faster and faster and everything he could think of was _wrong_.

Dobermon leaped up to join them. "Your General's trail leads this way!" She declared, nose turned up towards one of the less used stairways. Shoutmon didn't like people using that one, since it led up to a high tower that hadn't been made fully safe yet.

Only Taiki wouldn't have known that. Shoutmon hadn't yet told him all the little details and he hadn't thought Taiki would need to know. Besides, it was just a tower and a balcony up there. Nothing that would hurt anyone unless some sort of accident happened.

Or was made to happen.

"Let's go!" Shoutmon declared, and the small group headed that way as fast as Greymon's battered old feet could carry them.

With every step of the way, Shoutmon felt that bond fading away. He wasn't sure if there was a melody involved or not, but the part of him that was always connected to Taiki began to fade away.

 _Taiki? Taiki!_ Shoutmon shouted without words, craving any sort of contact, reaching for it with every ounce of his heart and soul, from the deepest depths of himself.

And nothing he did accomplished anything. There wasn't the slightest hint of Taiki responding.

They tracked along the trail Dobermon showed them, relating that Lucemon was with Taiki the whole time. Surely that would help. Lucemon would protect him, wouldn't he?

Lucemon had made the choice to be a good Digimon, hadn't he?

"There's another smell." Dobermon said, pitching to a halt without warning partway up the stairs to the balcony. "It's… like copper? I think?" She pushed her head forward and breathed in far more deeply. "It's a human scent. I know that."

Shoutmon breathed in as well. It wasn't a scent that he'd noticed often before, but with each moment it rested in his nostrils, he was more certain than before that it was one he knew. From the way that Greymon and Dracomon fidgeted, they recognized it as well.

Shoutmon didn't want to recognize it. Combined with how horrible he already felt from whatever was going on with Taiki, he honestly wanted to go lay down and pretend this wasn't happening. Only he hadn't become king by doing that and he hadn't made it as far as he had by doing that and he wasn't going to fail his General now or ever!

 _Taiki never gave up on me and I'm not going to do that now!_

"Blood." He said the word none of them wanted to hear or even to think about. "That's human blood. It's not supposed to be there."

Blood was _supposed_ to stay on the inside of humans. He'd smelled it during the war, with those few accidents that Taiki or Akari or one of the others had. You couldn't get through most battles without someone bleeding somewhere, especially since a lot of their enemies targeted Taiki in particular, at least until the point of actual fighting.

He'd smelled human blood before. He'd never wanted to smell it again. Especially when it was Taiki's blood.

First they smelled it. As they came to the balcony, Shoutmon saw it. Too much and not enough all at the same time – as if someone made sure it wouldn't all be there.

Or made sure Taiki didn't bleed on the floor.

There wasn't any sign whatsoever of Taiki or Lucemon. Shoutmon shuddered, claws tightening, staring at his companions. There wasn't much room up here for Greymon, but he squeezed himself in and stared at the spots on the ground, claws digging slow streaks into the stone underneath him.

Later, Shoutmon wasn't certain who made the first noise. Everyone told him that he had, falling to his knees and screaming Taiki's name until it bounced off the walls and echoed back from the farthest reaches of the Digital World.

They told him that, Dracomon and Dobermon and Greymon and Mail Birdramon and anyone else who heard him. But he didn't remember it. He remembered almost nothing from the moment that he fully let himself see the blood on the floor, realizing it was Taiki's blood, and the final, irreversible _snap_ of the thread that had done nothing but dwindle and fray for the last hour or so.

He wasn't the only one. All of them stirred uncomfortably, Greymon and Mail Birdramon more so than Dracomon or Dobermon. When they asked others, the answers came back in very clear demarcations.

Every member of Xros Heart felt the same pain that Shoutmon did, if only slightly lessened.

Every member of Blue Flare and Twilight sensed something vastly wrong, but not quite the stabbing agony in their hearts and souls that Xros Heart did.

Every Digimon who'd been part of the great Final Xros against Bagramon became aware that something wasn't the way that it should be; something that disturbed their sleep to some extent, or sent a chill down their spines.

Those Digimon who, for whatever reason, hadn't been part of that or hadn't met Taiki felt absolutely nothing at all.

But what surprised them all more than anything else was who else sensed the unmistakable death of Kudou Taiki. At the same time that all of Xros Heart screamed for the passing of their General, Blue Flare and Twilight heard two separate voices ringing in their heads.

"What's going on?" Aonuma Kiriha demanded of Greymon.

"Sparrowmon? Mervamon? Is everything all right?" Amano Nene was every bit as insistent.

And no one knew what to tell them.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** And now we have just one chapter to go. There will be more stories that involve Lucemon and Omrimon and other characters. After all, Shoutmon won't let his General stay with Lucemon. But Lucemon doesn't want his Omrimon to be with anyone else. And what are the other Generals going to do? I haven't forgotten Tagiru either. I have some very _fun_ ideas for him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Series:** Hunting The Great Game|| **Title:** The King's General  
 **Characters:** Taiki, Shoutmon, Beelzebumon, Xros Heart|| **Romance:** N/A  
 **Chapter:** Eleven|| **Words:** 13,571  
 **Genre:** Drama, Friendship|| **Rated:** G  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing, L19, series of 5 or more fics; Include The Word Boot Camp, #29, panoramic; Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #5, vanish; Season Rewrite Challenge: rewriting Digimon Hunters; Presents Under The Tree  
 **Notes:** And now it's time to end this story.

* * *

"Greymon! Mail Birdramon! What is it? I _felt_ something! Is everyone all right?" Kiriha demanded, shaking his Xros Loader. For a few moments he got no answer at all. Then the faint bits of snow resolved to show the small image of Shoutmon. "Shoutmon? What are you doing here?" He tensed for a heartbeat. "Is Taiki there?"

"He was." Shoutmon murmured, looking far more depressed than Kiriha could ever remember having seen him before. In point of fact, he didn't think he'd ever seen Shoutmon depressed at all. "But something happened."

"What was it?" Kiriha bit the words off. He wanted answers, the sooner the better.

Before Shoutmon could form an answer, a different voice altogether spoke.

"What happened was something that I didn't plan on and now we're all going to have to fix it."

A face that Kiriha hadn't ever seen before, that of an old man, popped up on the screen. "Though I can't say I planned on Kudou Taiki being in the Digital World, either. Of course that did make other things a lot easier." He tapped a finger against his chin. "But that's not the point right now."

"Who are you and what _is_ the point?" Nene's voice came over the Xros Loader, followed a heartbeat later by her brother's.

"And where is Taiki-san?"

"My, my, so many people who want to know where he is. Well, I'll tell you what I can." The old man cleared his throat. "I know you in the Digital World have been wondering who arranged for Digimon interested in humans to go to the human world. That was me. You can rest assured that they're all fine and most of them have partners of some kind. I am arranging a vast Digimon Hunt and I will need Hunters for it."

Kiriha held himself back from snarling, but only just barely. "What does that have to do with what's happened to Taiki?"

"Because when Taiki came to the Digital World, Gumdramon left it," Shoutmon told him. "You haven't seen him anywhere, have you? He's not quite as big as I am and he's purple, with a long tail."

Kiriha shook his head. "Haven't seen any Digimon around here." Though there had been a few moments where he'd thought…

"I have." Yuu said it as if he would far rather have seen anyone else. "He and a classmate of mine, Akashi Tagiru, are partners now. I've seen them running around with a bad crowd."

The old man coughed. "We can discuss that another time. The point here is that Kudou Taiki had been taken to the Digital World and now Lucemon has murdered him."

Kiriha wasn't entirely certain of what he said, only that cold shock unfolded from the inside out. His grip on his Xros Loader tightened almost to the point he thought either it or his fingers might break. It couldn't be. He couldn't even comprehend the idea of Taiki being dead and it was said so _casually_ too, as if Taiki hadn't done anything more unusual than trip over a rock.

Taiki, the one who'd been the first real friend that he'd ever had. Taiki, the one who helped him when he hadn't even known he'd needed help. Taiki, the one who'd saved him when he _had_ known he'd needed help and couldn't do anything about it. Taiki, who brought an end to the Xros Wars.

Nene and Yuu didn't sound as if they believed it anymore than he had. But the old man kept talking.

"He won't be dead for long. Lucemon has some sort of plan in mind and it includes reviving him. Exactly what he'll be like when that happens I can't say. But I suspect Lucemon has more in mind than a return ticket from the afterlife."

Kiriha shook his head, trying to get his thoughts back into something that resembled order. He wasn't doing a very good job of it. Even if Taiki 'came back', the whole concept of him being _dead_ in the first place shook Kiriha to his core.

Not to mention the idea of Taiki 'coming back' wasn't one he could get his head wrapped around either. Late night movies stirred in the back of his thoughts, zombies, vampires, demons, all manner of confusing concepts.

"Unfortunately Lucemon isn't all you have to worry about. I meant to contact you all soon enough anyway, but there's a grand danger arising. I don't know who is behind it, but I do know that whoever it is ripped open a hole in the multiverse."

"Multiverse?" One word, far more voices than Kiriha could count, including his own.

"We can explain cosmology another time. What you need to focus on is this: the Digimon Hunt I'm building involves stopping whoever this is. You will need help from other worlds to succeed, but I haven't yet been able to get hold of the right ones. I'm going to keep working on that." The old man fidgeted and glanced over his shoulder. "How much time do I have left?"

"Only five minutes." Another different, new voice. Kiriha couldn't see who it was right now, but it still said they didn't have enough time to do anything.

The idea that came was perfect and simple and Kiriha found himself a bit surprised that he hadn't thought of it any sooner.

"Since you're the one who sends things between Earth and the Digital World, then I want to know something: can you send _me_ to the Digital World?"

For a few brief seconds, there wasn't any sort of sound at all. Then the old man answered. "I could. But something or someone would have to take your place."

"Do we have any volunteers?" Shoutmon muttered. Kiriha wasn't sure if he meant it seriously or not.

But someone did. "I will. I'm curious as to what this 'Digimon Hunt' is about, and humans are more interesting than I thought." Again a fresh new voice. Kiriha wondered how many new friends Taiki had made while he was there this time.

"Witchmon, are you sure?" That he recognized as Wisemon.

"Of course I am. Well, old man? Can you do it?"

The old man coughed a bit. "Of course I can. But you, Aonuma Kiriha: is this what you want?"

Kiriha didn't even have to think about it. He would have to make arrangements, but he could do it. He _would_ do it.

"Yes."

The old man glanced over his shoulder again, then turned back. Kiriha got the distinct impression that he was being stared at.

In fact, he thought he'd been stared at by this man before. The odd reddish spectacle over one eye…

"If this is what you want, I can arrange it. I won't be able to for twelve hours, however. I'll contact you when it's time."

Kiriha nodded. That would give him enough time to get everything ready. "Greymon, Mail Birdramon, I'll be there as soon as I can be. Is everyone there?" It would be good to see his team again, though he would have preferred it not involve Taiki being _dead_.

"Yes. We're at Shoutmon's castle right now." Greymon told him. Kiriha nodded; that would be a good enough place to start.

"Kiriha..." Nene's image flashed up on the screen. "I'm going -"

"No. You and Yuu need to stay here and keep things under control. I'm going to find Taiki and take care of Lucemon." Kiriha raised his head. "Keep an eye out for trouble, would you?"

"You're going right to where the biggest trouble is now," Nene pointed out. Kiriha let himself smile.

"Then I don't need to watch out for it, do I?"

* * *

 **The End**

 **Notes:** The end of the beginning. Or possibly the middle of the beginning. Seriously, Lucemon surprised me when he insisted on joining the plot. But at any rate: Kiriha and Witchmon will trade places. And I am _gleeing_ at the thought of what I want to do with Tagiru and Gumdramon. Any guesses on the 'bad crowd'? It shouldn't be that hard, really. Now, let's see… oh, yes. We have hints of our overall enemy. And just as a note, when the interdimensional allies show up (for both sides), they will all be variations from _my_ stories. I could say so much more but I won't. Not now. I'm not sure when I will write another fic in this series, because I'm still working on finishing other wips first. Unless, of course, I get the space and time to write a one-shot or two. I do rather want to write something involving who the Old Clock Man is. Though that should be obvious too.


End file.
